I tried to make the topic meaningful to students by connecting it continually to their surroundings. In lesson 8, the student are asked to explore their environment for different bodies of water and in a sense adopt one and explain the characteristics it possesses. The students then move on to present the project to the class and through the sharing the whole class is made better aware of their environment and how the weathering and erosion and weathering are important for some of the change in their environment. Lesson 2, which deals with the rock cycle, also has the student taking information learned in class and applying it to their own environment. The students use what they've learned about rock and the rock cycle and will analyze a specimen they have found in their own environment. During Lesson 7, students will again make connections to the environment on the east coast and in Rhode Island. I will use questioning throughout the unit to make connections from the information they are learning to the students prior knowledge about what they have seen in their environment, such as the change in the shape of a beach from year to year (which is cause by many types of erosion and deposition).
I used inquiry during Lesson 4 in which students created their own observable water cycles. I modified the lesson to become Inquiry based by having the student choose the materials they should use and explain why they were used . I am having the students create their own procedure to creating the water cycle model. The students will build their model without instruction. I will use questioning to guide student thought toward the desired goal. The Students will make connections to the previous learned material about the water cycle and will write an explanation of what occurred in their model. They will also propose improvements that could be made to their models to make the model work more efficiently.
The ways in which I assessed student learning were through formative assessment, formal assessment a form of formative assessment , summative assessment. Throughout the lessons I use questioning, with the purpose of accessing background knowledge, to see what student do know about the information being discussed. I also assess in a formative manner by making observations about how and what the students are learning to gauge the pace of my lessons. Student understanding may not follow the timing I planed for my lessons and I will have to make adjustments based on my observations so that the material is throughly taught. There are formal assessments throught my lesson such as guided organizers, assigned homework (which will be graded), and projects. An additional formative assessment which is also summative in nature will be the end of the unit exam which include different forms of questions, multiple choice, true and false, short essays and diagrams which will serve as fill in the blank. I want to use different forms of questioning to appeal to the different type of learners.
Most of my lessons open with a way to access students prior knowledge and grasp their attention. By accessing students prior knowledge I can get them thinking about what we will be learning and hopefully get them to ask question about what they don't understand. One of the ways I try to access students prior knowledge is through questioning. I think this is one of the best tools in a teachers tool box. Questioning asks the students to think about the information being learned. Even if a student does not respond with the correct answer, he/she is now thinking about the question and wants to know the answer. Making connections to the student's environment also accesses students prior knowledge because there are many things a student may have observed but had never knew the explanation for such an observation. Making connections make the information being learned more important to the student
I have the lessons sequence so that the as the lessons progress they are building on knowledge previously learned. I have the students learning about minerals and their characteristics before the rock cycle is discussed. The rock cycle briefly covers information on weathering, which will later be covered in more depth. The water cycle is then covered. Once the rock cycle, water cycle, and weathering have be discussed there is a significant amount of background knowledge to enter the lessons which deal with more complex concepts such as weathering, erosion, deposition and the power of water.
I used inquiry during Lesson 4 in which students created their own observable water cycles. I modified the lesson to become Inquiry based by having the student choose the materials they should use and explain why they were used . I am having the students create their own procedure to creating the water cycle model. The students will build their model without instruction. I will use questioning to guide student thought toward the desired goal. The Students will make connections to the previous learned material about the water cycle and will write an explanation of what occurred in their model. They will also propose improvements that could be made to their models to make the model work more efficiently.
The ways in which I assessed student learning were through formative assessment, formal assessment a form of formative assessment , summative assessment. Throughout the lessons I use questioning, with the purpose of accessing background knowledge, to see what student do know about the information being discussed. I also assess in a formative manner by making observations about how and what the students are learning to gauge the pace of my lessons. Student understanding may not follow the timing I planed for my lessons and I will have to make adjustments based on my observations so that the material is throughly taught. There are formal assessments throught my lesson such as guided organizers, assigned homework (which will be graded), and projects. An additional formative assessment which is also summative in nature will be the end of the unit exam which include different forms of questions, multiple choice, true and false, short essays and diagrams which will serve as fill in the blank. I want to use different forms of questioning to appeal to the different type of learners.
Most of my lessons open with a way to access students prior knowledge and grasp their attention. By accessing students prior knowledge I can get them thinking about what we will be learning and hopefully get them to ask question about what they don't understand. One of the ways I try to access students prior knowledge is through questioning. I think this is one of the best tools in a teachers tool box. Questioning asks the students to think about the information being learned. Even if a student does not respond with the correct answer, he/she is now thinking about the question and wants to know the answer. Making connections to the student's environment also accesses students prior knowledge because there are many things a student may have observed but had never knew the explanation for such an observation. Making connections make the information being learned more important to the student
I have the lessons sequence so that the as the lessons progress they are building on knowledge previously learned. I have the students learning about minerals and their characteristics before the rock cycle is discussed. The rock cycle briefly covers information on weathering, which will later be covered in more depth. The water cycle is then covered. Once the rock cycle, water cycle, and weathering have be discussed there is a significant amount of background knowledge to enter the lessons which deal with more complex concepts such as weathering, erosion, deposition and the power of water.